Abstract
Current educational policies show a growing tendency towards giving schools more autonomy and internal quality control. Accurate and comparable data on school performances are thus needed. In Flanders, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and TIMSS-R (Third International Mathematics and Science Study – Repeat) have provided participating schools with information on their individual performances. This article begins by describing the rationale behind these school reports and their content. Based on interviews with school heads, a model for school feedback is developed, the main aim of which is to consider the conditions that have to be in place in order to make sure that a particular set of indicators can contribute effectively to quality control and improvement by the individual school. We will argue that, in order to successfully achieve that goal, the model has to meet six requirements.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their appreciation of the efforts of all those involved in compiling the TIMSS and PISA school reports in providing the necessary data and for their clarifications and comments during the research project.